The taste may be terrible, but the rewards are good. Ever since I was reborn in this Dungeon, the one thing that has remained constant, is my belief that level ups are delicious. With some Biomass under my belt and a little peace and quiet here in this clearing, it’s an ideal time to take stock and mutate a little. A chance to fortify ourselves before we continue our mission of conquest.

[Alright then, squad. Time to mutate and upgrade anything you need to. We'll get it done before we set forth.]

[Alright, Master.]

[Uuoooo!]

Tiny's excited. Speaking of which, better heal him.

[Healing Magic Affinity has reached level 5.]

Oohhh. Nice! I can spend a point to upgrade that to the next level. Maybe it'll give me the secret medicine I need to rip foreign mana out of Tiny's body. In fact, I might as well go through all my skills right now. Be a little more thorough. There's a couple of things that have come a long way since I'd last gone through my full status. My core shaping skills that I practiced with the Sophos have levelled nicely. I've been continuing to train with every core we can spare, but mastering the fusion techniques has proven difficult. I'm certain I'll be able to get it, but it's going to take more time. My defensive skills are levelling at good pace, my mental skills also. I've had to spend a lot of skill points on upgrading recently, I never thought I'd ever run out. I still have ten in the bank, but that could disappear in a flash, especially if I try another skill fusion.

I've been considering, since I purchased the fire magic affinity, why not get all of the elemental affinities and aim for the fusion of all four? The elemental mastery skill sounds powerful. People usually don't go for it, since the time required to raise each of the skills to an appropriate rank is a drain. But with multiple brains on the job, I might be able to get there. I don't know when I'll finally get access to Gravity Magic Affinity, and elemental spells are proving more useful than I expected. May as well go for it. But not yet.

For now there's other business to be about. And what's that business? Mutation! Naturally! It's time for me to once again indulge in the love of carapace! I'm determined that the first thing to reach +25 is going to be my exo-skeleton! It couldn't possibly be anything else! But to go from +20 to +25 is going to take some serious Biomass. One hundred and fifteen smackers, just for this! For one upgrade! But for my precious Carapace, it's worth it!

The last upgrade took me from True Diamond Carapace, to Hardened True Diamond carapace, which further toughened the sections of carapace bonded to the tough diamond exterior. There's probably going to be a ton of options again, but I'm all in on diamond. I will be unbreakable!

[Would you like to upgrade Hardened True Diamond carapace to +25? This will cost 115 Biomass.]

Confirm it! Don't even talk to me about the cost.!

[At this level you may choose a mutation advancement, select from the menu.]

I won't be distracted! So many options, but I don't care! I rush through the menu searching for the upgrades that will further let me walk the path of shiny diamonds. Aha! Here it is!

[Complete Diamond Carapace. Expands the range of Diamond coating to cover the entire exo-skeleton.]

It's here! Finally the time when my entire exterior is coated with precious diamond! I don't know why but I've become addicted to feeling this expensive! To improve matters, this is going to remove the last weak points in my exterior! No more worrying about whether a stray stab is going magically stab straight through me. Now, all attacks must go through the full might of the diamond carapace!

Confirm it! Confirm it immediately!

HAGOOF!

It itches! It itches so bad! It starts strong and spreads so fast that my entire carapace feels like it's on fire in an instant. I can feel the sections of diamond coating spreading out to cover the last of me, crawling over my face, tracing the edges of my eyes and running up to the base of my antennae. I'm becoming encased! It's glorious!

When the itch fades away, I'm happy enough that I ignore the odd looks I get from Tiny and Crinis. There are a ton of other things that I could have upgraded first, but I'm glad I went through with the carapace mutation. I have the satisfaction that at least one body part is prepared for the next evolution. I only have 48 Biomass left. Enough to do a little bit of work with, but I'll leave it for now. At the end of the reflection session my status looks like this:

Name: Anthony

Level: 16 (Rare) (V)

Might: 91

Toughness: 79

Cunning: 64

Will: 45

HP: 158/158

MP: 250/250

Skills:

General:

Expert Excavation (III) Level 7; Expert Grip (III) Level 1; Advanced Stealth (II) Level 9; Tunnel Map (II) Level 9; Iron Mind (IV) Level 4; Expert Stamina (III) Level 9; Profound Meditation (III) Level 14; Flicker Dash (III) Level 9;

Mana:

Mana Transformation (III) Level 19; Condensed Mana (III) Level 10; Finer External Mana Manipulation (III) Level 9; Mana Coveter (III) Level 5; Expert Water Magic Affinity (III) Level 3; Empowered Mind Magic Affinity (III) Level 1; Expanded Mana Sensing (III) Level 6; Enhanced Healing Magic Affinity (II) Level 1; Fire Magic Affinity (I) Level 4;

Pet:

Distant Pet Communication (II) Level 5; Core Surgery (III) Level 14; Pet Growth Speed (I) Level 1;

Defensive:

Expert Exo-Skeleton Defence (III) Level 19; Advanced Dodge (II) level 2; Advanced Endure (II) Level 2; Grace (I) Level 4;

Offensive:

Deadly Acid Shot (III) Level 9; Expert Precise Shooting (III) Level 2; Omen Chomp (IV) Level 6;

Mutations:

Senses:

Perimeter Eyes +15, Future Sight Infrared Antennae +15,

Defence

Complete Diamond Carapace +25, Supportive Inner Carapace Plating +15,

Physical

Rapid Absorption Legs +15, Empowered Mandibles +15, Regrowth Regeneration Gland +15, Loquacious Pheromone Gland +15, Gluttonous Stomach + 15; Instant Twitch Musculature +10, Wide Gated Sub-Neural Network +10;

Acid:

Mana Binding Acid +15, Hyper Pressurised Acid Nozzle +10; Potent Acid Concentration Gland +10, Fatiguing Acid Stimulation Gland +10,

Mental:

Adaptable Coordination Cortex +15,

Mana:

Bottomless Gravity Magic Gland +15, Collective Will Vestibule +5;

Species: Juvenile Colony Paragon (Formica Sapiens)

Skill points: 10

Biomass: 48

[Alright guys! It's time to move out!]